Love's Labor
by Bobotuber Pus
Summary: A husband, a wife, and magic in the birthing room at Malfoy Manor


Love's Labor  
  
The pain was excruciating. It felt like being stabbed with serrated knives. And with the pressure on her back, she might as well have had a hippogriff's claws digging into her spine.  
  
She would rather have taken two hits of the Cruciatus curse than have to endure this pain any longer. Not that she hadn't taken more during the Great War, but at this moment, those years seemed a lifetime away. Ok, maybe two lifetimes. After all, who would have thought she'd be here, five years later, in the birthing room of a manor belonging to one of the Wizarding world's most prominent pureblood families?  
  
The room was comfortable enough, if not for the labor pains. She was propped up on pillows on bed situated in the middle of a room full of windows. The early morning sun streamed through the French windows whose shades she had insisted be drawn back. Natural light was comforting for her and she'd be damned if she was going to bring her child into the world in a dark room. It was one of many concessions granted to her, despite the many Wizarding traditions that had to be followed with the birth of her child.  
  
For her, there would be no Muggle hospitals, no epidurals, and no medical machines to monitor her vital signs or that of her child's. There were, however, in attendance the two best mid-witches her husband's family could afford, and medi-wizards on call at St. Mungo's should anything go awry.  
  
Her mother-in-law was also in the room, albeit more for carrying on the family tradition than anything else. Not for the first time, she wondered how Narcissa Malfoy was going to survive the gore that accompanied natural childbirth. She'd heard it told that Narcissa had missed out on her own childbirth, having passed out as Draco was being born. Come to think of it, this is probably the first time she had seen Narcissa, the ultimate society witch, devoid of jewelry and hair not perfectly coiffed. She looked rather regular and more approachable. Not that this was a great time to initiate another bonding moment with her mother-in-law, as a new wave of contractions assaulted her.  
  
"Aaaaaahh!," she groaned once more, clutching the satin sheets on the bed and squeezing her eyes shut to keep the sweat from her forehead from dripping in. This pain is excruciating.  
  
Narcissa Malfoy watched her daughter-in-law attempt to fight off the labor pains with her trademark Gryffindor courage. She had heard so much about this girl's courage, both as she fought in the war and as she faced its casualties, which included her Muggle parents, but Narcissa herself had never been witness to it. Seeing it first hand had only increased her admiration for this girl, and she reflected on the relationship she'd had with her daughter-in-law over the past three years.  
  
A wide range of emotions characterized the different stages of their relationship. There was the disappointment over her son's broken engagement to a witch from a prominent pureblood family. Then this disappointment was replaced by denial over his blossoming romance with a Muggleborn one. Then there was the uncertain belief in the rumors that their marriage had merely been to secure the tenuous peace that existed after the War. She believed, as many in the Wizarding World did, that Draco and Hermione would seek an annulment to the marriage after a couple of years, when peace was secured. It was easy to believe that because she rarely saw them as they had lived in the luxurious town home Draco owned in a prominent part of Wizarding London.  
  
It was only two months ago, a month after Hermione had completely lost all her magical abilities, that Draco insisted they moved temporarily to Malfoy Manor. The Manor retained its numerous wards and magical protection that Lucius and the Malfoys before him had installed. Though the War ended with Harry Potter's defeat of Voldemort, there were still those intent on revenge on the Heroes, two of whom were Draco and Hermione.  
  
And though Narcissa knew that Hermione was capable of defending herself, being one of the most brilliant witches of her generation (besting Draco academically at Hogwarts and partnering with him as the strategic mastermind of the War), no one had expected the loss of magical power that accompanied her third trimester. The medi-wizards called it gestational squibbing, and had assured them that it sometimes happened to Muggleborn witches. The effects were temporary and the witch's magical abilities were restored a few weeks after the birth.  
  
So Draco and Hermione had moved into Malfoy Manor two months previously. Initially, Narcissa thought it was because Draco wanted to follow the Malfoy custom of having the heir born at the Manor; however this notion was completely debunked by the reality of post-War security and the gestational squibbing. Since they moved in, Narcissa had had plenty of time to get to know and observe her son and daughter-in-law.  
  
There had been nothing to indicate that theirs was the marriage of convenience some particularly catty Witch Weekly articles liked to insinuate. They obviously adored each other and Narcissa had, on more than one occasion, caught them snogging like teenagers in various rooms in the Manor. As the pregnancy progressed and Hermione lost her magical abilities, Draco treated her more and more like a Faberge egg, much to the annoyance of her independent daughter-in-law.  
  
And it wasn't just the major, expected things that Draco did for his wife, like transform the entire East Wing into a nursery or accompanying her to every pre-natal appointment at St. Mungo's. Draco insisted on picking out the pickle-flavored Bertie Botts Beans for Hermione, a task that could have been relegated to a house elf. Draco massaged his Hermione's feet when he could have easily cast a relaxing charm on her. And two weeks ago, Draco was the first to take advantage of Malfoy Enterprises and Industries' newly- established paternity leave by taking two months leave to spend more time with his wife, something completely unheard of in the Wizarding World. No, mused Narcissa, this was most definitely not a marriage of convenience. And though it did manage to secure post-War peace among wizards, there could be no greater proof to this love match than the fact that Narcissa was about to witness the birth of her first grandchild.  
  
"Aaaughhh!" The pained groans from Hermione brought Narcissa back from her reverie. She strode elegantly towards her daughter-in-law, sat on the edge of the bed, and proceeded to dab away the beads of sweat from Hermione's forehead with a chamomile-scented towel.  
  
"Thank you..., " she said rather hoarsely, smiling for a brief moment before another wave of pain contorted her strained face. Narcissa was at a loss for what to do, of what her role needed to be at this moment. At least she know that she was not supposed to assist in the actual delivery itself; that's what Draco was paying these two mid-witches for. She certainly could not count on her one experience of delivering a baby. Her labor had been brief and her only memory of her own mother-in-law was of Jocasta Malfoy striding out of the birthing room, nose in the air with a handkerchief, unable to take the smells of childbirth any longer, before Narcissa passed out and Draco was born. Narcissa didn't know whether she ought to be doing something more other than wiping away her daughter-in- law's perspiration. She was saved from her uncertainty by the door bursting open to let Draco in.  
  
Hermione, hearing the door open, turned towards it and seeing Draco, reached out for him. Draco bridged the gap between them in two strides and clasped Hermione's hand with his own, sitting down on the spot Narcissa had quickly vacated moments before. Draco gave his mother a grateful look before turning all of his attention to his wife. Narcissa sighed and moved towards the window. It was always like this with the two of them. Draco and Hermione often acted like there was no one else in the room but each other.  
  
"I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier, love, "he apologized as he brought Hermione's hand to his lips. Mentally, he was still kicking himself for having had to Apparate to the office to sort some things out when he was supposed to be on paternity leave. Luckily he was able to smooth things out between his second in command, Blaise Zabini with whom he had left the Company in charge, and the Turkish Ministry of Magic Head of International Commerce. They were in the middle of finalizing the deal when Draco received Narcissa's message that Hermione had gone into labor. Draco remembered the look of confusion from the Turkish wizard when he explained the reason for leaving the negotiations to return home.  
  
"But, your wife is only in labor, no? Surely you do not need to be there for another few hours until after the child is born? My own wife was in labor for sixteen hours with our first child.,"  
  
"It is my intention to be there every step of the way as my child is born, "insisted Draco feeling irritated that he had to explain his personal affairs to this bureaucrat.  
  
"I know of no wizard fathers present during the birthing of their children.Is this an English Wizarding tradition, then? "the Turkish wizard persisted, now asking this of Blaise, who for his part merely shrugged. Blaise knew that many things that involved Draco and Hermione had run smack against most Wizarding traditions.  
  
"It's not, but it doesn't mean that new traditions can't be created. You see, Mr. Baznik, if we were to follow traditions blindly and refuse to establish new ones, how will we progress? Innovation built Malfoy Enterprises and Industries and it is something that I expect from all employees of my company. I suspect this is why you have chosen to negotiate this deal with us. Now I must leave finalization of the terms of the deal with the very capable Mr. Zabini. Good day, Mr. Baznik," and with a nod to Blaise, Draco Apparated home. Leave it to Draco to spin this situation into something that benefits the company, Blaise mused.  
  
Draco promptly forgot his thoughts of the Turkish deal when he saw Hermione in the birthing room. He was relieved to find Narcissa sitting by Hermione and not looking like she was about to faint at any moment.  
  
Hermione clutched Draco's hand more tightly; her nails digging into the back of his hand, as another, more powerful contraction came on. "Ooooh!" she screamed, a trail of tears escaping her shut eyes. She sat up hoping to alleviate some of the pain, though not letting go of Draco's hand. Her breathing was ragged.  
  
Draco removed some of the pillows Hermione had been lying on and sat on the bed directly behind her sitting form so that he was straddling her from the back. He then proceeded to rub her back down, which seemed to calm her breathing a little. It didn't however lessen any of the contractions, which were now less and less apart. At her the last contraction, Hermione had jerked her head backward in pain, narrowly missing Draco's jaw.  
  
"The baby's almost coming', "said one of the mid-witches, "Mrs. Malfoy, I'll need you to start pushing."  
  
"Ok, love, this is it." Draco whispered soothingly into Hermione's ear. Hermione had collapsed into him and was resting her head on his shoulder, breathing raggedly. Draco massaged her arms, hoping that the soothing motions would give her renewed strength.  
  
As Hermione again pushed, screaming from the pain of her efforts, Draco wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to grasp his hands. Her breathing became even more ragged, and not for the first time, Draco feared he might lose her if her body ultimately was not able to physically handle the birthing of a magical child. During her pregnancy, Hermione had not gained too much weight to make significant alterations to her usual slight build. While her strength of character, her courage and her sharp wit made her an independent and capable witch, Draco wondered if she would be able to physically survive childbirth as a squib, with labor pains unmitigated by magic. Unless..Without any hesitation, Draco spoke the spell for Dolor Transfero.  
  
Mustering up what little strength she had left, Hermione pushed and pushed, screaming with the pain of it all. She was barely aware that she had her husband's hands in a viselike grip. She was barely aware of his attempts to whisper soothing words. She was barely aware of the further encouragement to push that the two mid-witches were directing at her. She was barely aware of Narcissa who had sat back down on the other edge of the bed and resumed to wiping her face with the scented towel. All she was aware of was the pain and the pressure that seemed interminable. This might well be worse than all the Cruciatus Curses she had to take on during the War. At least those she was able to fight off eventually, but this..  
  
Suddenly, she became aware that the stabbing pain was replaced by a dull one. She unscrewed her eyes and looked questioningly at Narcissa, who realized that something different occurred at that moment. Was that supposed to happen? But then again, she never expected gestational squibbing either.  
  
As soon as he completed the spell, Draco began to feel a stabbing, radiating pain in his abdomen. His lower back also felt like something had dealt him a violent kick. His body tingled and he could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He also felt Hermione relaxing slightly as he continued to hold her against him.  
  
Her breathing became more regular and as she was able to fill her lungs with air better, she gave one final, might push and felt her child go through the birth canal emerging in a coat of blood and goo.  
  
Draco felt the pain that Hermione didn't. As she gave that one final push that brought their child into the world, Draco felt like his body was being split apart. The pain was indescribable, and he thought that if it lasted any longer, he just might pass out from it all. Fortunately for him, his son was anxious to make his entrance in the world.The pain and the pressure gradually began to recede and as the mid-witch announced, "Congratulations, you have a healthy son," and the infant began to howl like he had been waiting to do that for months, Draco collapsed against the head of the bed, taking Hermione with him.  
  
"You did it, love! You were magnificent! "he whispered into Hermione's hair.  
  
"No, Draco, we did it!"  
  
And as Narcissa watched her son and daughter-in-law hold their firstborn, she sincerely wished the rest of the Wizarding world could have witnessed what she saw in this room in the last hour, and put an end, once and for all, to those awful rumors about their marriage. 


End file.
